Although Marquette ultimately edged out Butler 74-72 in this year's college basketball tournament, friends wrote that they had no doubt Luke was "dancing in heaven."

"Words cannot describe the pain we feel. Thank you all for the love and support. Keep praying and praying and praying," Ryan Bresette wrote.

He asked friends to wear their favorite sports team shirts to a church Mass in honor of his son.

"Luke loved sports! I miss and love Luke so very much," he said.

The Bresette family of Overland Park, Kan., was returning home from a beachfront vacation in Florida Friday when a large flight-display board toppled over at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport.

The accident happened several weeks after the flight terminal reopened from a $201 million remodeling.

It took a half-dozen bystanders to help lift the 300-pound flight-status board and free the four injured family members.

Luke was rushed to Children's of Alabama Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His mother, Heather Bresette, was listed in critical condition at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital. Two other brothers also sustained injuries.

"We're going to continue to look into the situation, but for now, we have secured the site," Herrera-Bast said.

Luke's older sister, Anna Bresette, has been tweeting about the family's ordeal and wrote that her two other brothers' injuries were not life-threatening. She also tweeted that her mother had a broken pelvis and two broken ankles. She wrote on Twitter Friday afternoon, "It still feels like a dream."

Birmingham Mayor William Bell released a statement Friday addressing the incident and investigation.

"I have asked our public-safety staff to assist this family in their time of need in any way possible as they grapple with what has happened," Bell said.

Although the area where the sign fell was cordoned off, the airport remained open after the incident.

The FBI-Birmingham Citizens Academy Alumni Association announced it will open a fund Monday to help the Bresette family cover their expenses.